Purge my Soul
by Cursed Soul
Summary: Akari Cross is a young meister with the inability to wield a weapon; Justin Law is a Death Scythe with a dislike towards partnerships. When the two are paired together unexpectedly, will they sync as one or purge all hope for the future?
1. Chapter 1

**Cursed Soul: To all of you peeps out there. I do NOT own Soul Eater, it belongs to it's rightful creator. Sorry to bum you out. ;)**

**Justin: Damn right you don't own me.**

**Akari: Oh god, here we go again... *facepalms***

**Cursed Soul: Enjoy, my Soul Eater lovin' peeps. :D**

**BEWARE! This story contains major spoilers for anyone that hasn't read the Soul Eater Manga. Just to warn you. **

The Revival

A young meister, at the age of seventeen stood alone at the edge of a very large room. She had long, straight light blonde hair that reached down to her waist, and eyes of liquid silver that shone when the light hit them. She wore a simple outfit: a short black skirt with a chain hanging from her pockets on the right side; a white undershirt covered by her faded gray open-zippered sweatshirt that was printed with unique black designs, and black flats for shoes with gray socks that reached to her thighs. She watched silently from the edge of the scene before her, taking in the details. The girl's name: Akari Cross.

As said before, the Death Room was crowded; Akari had never seen so many weapons and meisters in it at one time. The stress of it all was a little unsettling. The Battle on the Moon had just ended hours earlier, and everyone had gathered in the Death Room to hear what important things Lord Death might have to say. Akari, since she was standing alone, decided to make sense of the chaos happening around her.

She recognized many of the faces she saw as her eyes wandered around the room, the Death Scythes: Marie, Azusa, Spirit, and Naigus were present, along with others who were unfamiliar. The teachers: Franken Stein and Sid were standing near Lord Death next to his mirror. DMWA's members of Spartoi were all present; including a purple-haired one who's gender Akari couldn't distinguish. Death the Kid caught Akari's attention as he spoke with a green-haired girl and her weapon about the events that occurred during the battle; he seemed to be filling them in on everything.

As she continued her survey, she saw two very interesting individuals standing with each other on the opposite side of the room. They were secluded from everyone else, kind of like her. A boy and a girl; both looked to be about fifteen… They both seemed to be weapons, but they both showed no signs of having meisters. They certainly weren't autonomous, so the thought puzzled Akari a little. The boy had messy brown hair and moss green eyes. He wore a hat, probably to conceal his hair, and his outfit altogether was very unique. The girl had dirty blonde hair, and deep chocolate eyes. She was a couple inches shorter than him and wore a long dual-scarf with red ends. The two seemed more focused on each other and not the events happening around them, they laughed as they spoke. Akari sighed at the sight. It made her wish she had a friend like that, someone to trust and rely on, or someone at all to talk too… Akari had a feeling she see these two again. She let her eyes wander once more.

Akari continued looking around, there were many people present that she couldn't recognize. Death Scythes, meisters, weapons, Shibusen students, and teachers were everywhere. Suddenly Akari's thoughts were drowned out by a single voice.

"ATTENTION!"

There was immediate silence among the huge group. Everyone turned to look at the source of the noise, Lord Death himself. He patiently waited for everyone to listen. He finally spoke once he knew he had caught their full attention:

"Now then, we all know that our mission on the moon was a success, we restored peace by taking the life of the Kishin Asura."

Many people nodded their heads in agreement, and sighed in relief. Lord Death continued in his carefree voice:

"Many lives have been taken during these last few months while the Kishin has been running amuck, but we have good news!"

The crowd began talking, the room echoed with the many different voices:

"Good news?"

"What good news is there besides the death of Asura?'

"What other good has possibly come from this struggle?"

Akari winced, she remembered the reason she was here in the first place… To revive the ones that have fallen. Lord Death had ordered her to come to the Death Room; he had called her earlier than everyone else and explained what she needed to do today in private. She still couldn't believe the things Lord Death expected her to perform; she hadn't perfected them in the least! What if she messed up?

Akari shook the thought off, she could do this. Lord Death was counting on her! She continued listening to Shinigami, realizing she'd missed quite a big chunk of his speech while she'd been thinking to herself. Everyone was quiet, and then she realized ALL of them were looking at her.

"Akari Cross?" It was Lord Death. "Akari?" He was looking at her, along with everyone else, a questioning look on his face.

She stammered, "O-oh, yes, Lord Death?"

"I called your name a couple of times Akari, but you didn't hear me. Could you come up here next to me?" He said in his ridiculous voice. "That way it'll be much easier to explain what you're going to do to for everyone."

Akari nodded, and slowly made her way through the crowd to stand next to the Grim Reaper. Everyone was still staring, how long had she been ignoring Lord Death?

"Well, I'll continue now… What I was saying before was that Akari has the power to manipulate aura, the foundation of life."

The crowd broke out into murmurs and whispers:

"What does that have to do with anything?'

"What is she up there for?"

"Aura? What is that?"

"QUIET EVERYONE!" Shinigami spoke louder, and the crowd grew silent. "Allow me to explain the situation without further interruption, please."

Many people nodded, but all of them remained completely silent.

"Thank you for your cooperation." He said in a cheery tone. "Now, where was I? Oh yes… Akari has an extremely rare gift. One that I had believed vanished centuries ago."

Akari blushed and looked down; it wasn't that big of a deal. She was receiving so much attention for a stupid gift that she couldn't completely control.

"With Akari's help, and some power lent from me and all of you. I believe we can revive everyone that was lost in this event with Asura."

The crowd's eyes widened. Akari has the power to revive those that have died? Was something like that even possible?

"Now, we will begin by making a circle around the room. Everyone will place the souls of those that have been lost in the center, any questions so far?"

Akari recognized a Death Scythe that stepped forward; it was The Demon Bow Azusa. She placed her hand on her glasses and spoke: "May I speak sir?"

"Yes you may Azusa, what is it?" Shinigami questioned her.

"Well, Lord Death, what about the souls that were lost but couldn't be obtained?" She spoke steadily, "Like Joe Buttataki, for example."

Akari spotted the Death Scythe Marie Mjolnir out in the crowd; she had stiffened at the name Azusa spoke. Maybe she had known this Joe person? His name sounded familiar to Akari, but she tried not to remember the reason why.

"I understand what you mean Azusa, but I have that all worked out already. So, no worries!" Shinigami said in his singsong type of voice.

Azusa was surprised, "What do you mean you've worked it out already? Joe's soul was eaten by"-

Shinigami cut her off. "I'm sure we all know what happened to Buttataki, Azusa. Everything will work out just fine."

"But sir"-

He cut her off again. "If you are wondering how we're going to revive Joe, we'll do that first then. How does that sound?" He suggested.

Marie came forward and stood next to Azusa, "Sir, how is that even going to be possible if," She swallowed, "Justin ate his soul…" Marie looked down, a sad expression on her face.

"Marie, you didn't have to mention the name of the person responsible for Joe's death. I'm sure once he's also revived that he'll regret everything he's done."

Marie's head snapped up, a look of horror on her face. "You're going to revive Justin Law?"

The crowd burst into a frenzy of anger and confusion at the reality of what they had heard. A lot of the anger was coming from where the Spartoi were standing, everyone in the Death Room had at least heard of the betrayer of Shibusen and the horrible things he'd done.

"QUIET!" Shinigami hollered over the deafening noise, and they all fell silent once more. "I don't understand what the big deal is about reviving one of the Death Scythes. You should all be grateful that something like that is possible at all."

Professor Franken Stein came forward and stood next to Marie. "Sir, if I may add in, Marie and I ended Justin's life because we believed it wouldn't be possible for him to return to normal. He seemed far beyond repair…"

"I completely understand why you took those measures Stein, but I do believe that he at least deserves a second chance, just like any other person does." Shinigami said in a very calm voice, somewhat out of his usual peppy character. "Now then, let's start with Justin! That way we can obtain Buttataki's, Granny's, and Tlipoca's souls once he's revived."

Stein nodded the turned his back to Shinigami, "Let's just hope that this decision you've made doesn't end up causing more problems for us all." Stein muttered to himself and walked to the edge of the room, followed by the very upset Marie. Then everyone else began to line the edges like Shinigami had described earlier.

Many people seemed uncomfortable, some angry, others were simply unreadable. It took a couple minutes for so many people to arrange themselves in a somewhat decent and organized manner. The members of Spartoi stayed in a unified group, none of them seemed happy with the idea of the betrayer, Justin, being revived. Death the Kid leaned over and whispered something barely audible into Soul's ear:

"With what he did to Granny and everyone else… this monster doesn't deserve a second chance." The young Reaper breathed.

All Soul could do was simply nod his head in agreement, he didn't want to speak. To think he'd been amazed at the things Justin could do by himself. The day Justin had saved Maka from the incident in Loew was still fresh in his mind. How could he have looked up to someone as evil as that? Someone that had betrayed everyone that looked up to him, and believed in him. Everyone that trusted him…

"Alright! Now that everyone is in place, how about we get started?" Shinigami said in his too-cheery voice, bouncing upward. "Stein, could you please give Akari Justin's soul?"

The teacher didn't reply, but snapped his fingers, and conjured up a light-blue soul in his hands. Akari left her spot beside the Grim Reaper, walked over to where to professor stood, and gently took the soul from his outstretched hands. Marie, looked away as Akari took hold of the object that seemed to cause her so much pain.

Once Akari had the soul in her hands, she could feel warmth reverberating off of it. Too think something that was made out to be so evil by everyone around her, could generate something so soothing…

"Akari, begin please." Shinigami snapped her out of her thoughts. He was standing off to the side with everyone else now.

"Yes sir." She said obediently. Akari walked towards the middle of the circle and stopped. She looked towards Lord Death, who gave her a simple nod to proceed.

Akari froze, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. _Alright Akari, they're all counting on you. Now focus, and do what Lord Death called you here for._

Akari took another deep breath before activating her power; she focused in on the soul in her hands. She let her energy flow into the object she held. She could feel the wavelength of the soul bounce back, and it startled her. _So strong…_

Akari closed her eyes once more and began to suck in the auras around her which generated into limitless energy. She began to mutter the words of the aura guardian under her breath, which sounded as haunting whispers to the surrounding audience:

"Ōra wa watashi ni anata no chikara o ataeru. Watashi ni anata no chikara o kasu. Watashi wa ushinawa reta mono o fukkatsu sa seru tasuke, futatabi motarasu! Ōra ga kassei-ka suru!"

(Aura give me your power. Lend me your strength. Help me revive what was lost, and bring forth once more! Aura activate!)

Light began to swell around the shape of Akari, and many different colors swirled around her form in the center of the room. Many people's eyes widened, some people's mouths' dropped open, others didn't move at all, but were completely transfixed at the sight before them.

Akari could feel the energy of everyone's presence absorbing into her, moving through her body like electricity surging through a cable and amplifying her power all at once. The light in her hands began to grow, and brighten; she could feel the life of the soul in her hands begin to strengthen very quickly.

The light around her brightened so much, many of the spectators had to shield their eyes from exposure to the light. The whole Death Room was illuminated with the glow of Akari.

_I don't know if I can do this, but I have to try! Aura, don't fail me now…_ Akari thought to herself in silence. _I have to be close by now…_ Then suddenly, Akari felt the soul in her hands swell, and then it shattered! The girl quickly opened her eyes to see if she'd made a mistake, but was only blinded by a final huge flash of a bluish white light. She winced and fell backward, uncomfortably landing her rear. She tightly shut her eyes once more.

The light around Akari dissolved and disappeared and the Death Room returned to its normal state of being, except for a couple sparkles of energy left floating around the air.

Akari heard many startled voices while she kept her eyes shut:

"What just happened?"

"Is she alright?"

"What was that light?"

"Who is that next to her?...Oh no."

Akari slowly opened her eyes so they could adjust to the room's light, they were very sensitive. She rubbed them to relieve the momentary pain. The light hurt at first, but she became accustomed to it very quickly. She realized she was on the floor when she felt something brush up against her right arm. Her head snapped quickly to the right and she realized that she was sitting next to the proclaimed killer, Justin Law.

He was lying there, on the floor next to her. Akari squealed and jumped a little. _It's him! Oh no, what do I do? What if he attacks me like everyone says he will?_ Akari snapped out of her thoughts when she realized he was unconscious. He was breathing, his chest gently rising and falling in rhythm. He was lying on his back, and in clothes. Thank god for clothes! She hadn't thought of the possibility that the people she'd revive would be uh… well. You know.

His clothes were a little tattered, she noticed a set of earphones with the mark of the kishin on the sides hanging out from his shirt's neckline. She reached out, but pulled back.

People around the room began to whisper and mutter the many things the boy might do to her if he happened to wake up. Akari glanced over to where Lord Death stood; he was focused on Professor Stein. The two were discussing something she couldn't make out. She looked over to the members of Spartoi, many were transfixed on the sight before them, unblinking. She turned her attention back to the boy next to her.

Akari looked at him; he didn't seem all that dangerous. Even, a little peaceful. She scooted closer to him, she heard a couple people gasp at her fearlessness.

_He seems so, innocent… Is he really as bad as everyone says he is?_ She leaned over his still figure; his blonde hair was covering most of his face. _I wonder… _Akari slowly moved her hand towards his face, but froze and winced. _Should I touch him?..._

She gently placed her hand on him and slowly moved the hair away from his closed eyes. Akari gasped, he looked nothing like she'd thought he would. Everyone had made him out to be so scary and wait; didn't they say he was scarred? There were no scars to be found from what she could see. Then, she heard him moan, and he stirred a little.

"Ahh!" Akari jumped at the sudden movement. The sound of Akari's yelp caught Shinigami's attention.

"Don't touch him Akari! Get up and move away from him, now!" His voice was slightly out of his usual character, a bit of anxiety was audible in his tone.

She looked towards him, "Yes, sir." She slowly got up, looked down at the unconscious boy one more time, and walked over to where Shinigami stood with the professors near the mirror.

"Now, what to do with Justin? Hmmm… I suppose I should wake him up soon if he doesn't himself." Shinigami said to the audience of people. No one responded.

"Well, I think it'd be best if we let him wake up himself, otherwise we might startle him and he could lash out at us." Stein said in his monotonous voice. Shinigami nodded.

"Yes, yes I agree. We should be careful."

Shinagmi turned towards Akari, "Are you alright with this?"

Akari simply nodded her head.

"Alright then… I guess we should get things moving. Stein, Marie, and Akari, come with me please." The group of four walked over to where Justin lay on the floor, he stirred once they came closer.

"I think he'll wake up soon in a couple of minutes, sir. We should be careful." Marie said with obvious worry in her usually uplifting voice.

"I'm going to confiscate his human souls while he's still unconscious. That way he can't resist later, and we'll have Tezca's, Joe's, and Granny's souls back... He might wake up though, so be ready." Lord Death produced his two hands and stretched them out with a silly "boing" sound.

Marie stopped him before he could proceed, "Wait, sir, are you going to take his other souls as well? Your not leaving him as a Death Scythe are you!"

"Well, of course he's staying a Death Scythe. If need be, I will confiscate those souls later as well, but not if he behaves properly." Lord Death told the other Death Scythe reassuringly.

Marie panicked. "But you can't possibly think he'll"-

Shinigami cut her off. "Marie, at least give him a chance. Alright?"

Marie looked towards Stein, who nodded slowly. Then she responded, "Fine." Without looking at Lord Death.

"Very well, I'll have to do this quickly then, before he wakes up." Shinigami inched closer to the boy lying on the ground, but Shinigami froze. The crowd, which had been talking this whole time, became instantly silent, and for a very good reason. Justin was awake.

Stein flinched and Marie nearly jumped when they noticed. Shinigami simply stared at the boy only a few feet away from him.

He was sitting up now, eyes open and very opaque, revealing nothing and reflecting light. A smirk stretched across his face that could halt an entire army, "Do what before I wake up?"

Akari gasped, she was only feet away from a person that had destroyed an entire Shibusen squad on the moon by himself; one that could take on a multitude of Death Scythes alone and come out victorious without a single scratch. Well, that's what she had heard anyway…

She slowly started to back away from him out of fear. He looked towards her when she started to move, Akari froze in place.

"Are you afraid?" He asked her softly, his eyes narrowed and locked onto hers. He slowly stood up onto his feet, perfectly balanced and unwavered by the fact he was surrounded completely by everyone in the room.

Akari couldn't move. His eyes were so blue… she didn't know eyes could be that shade, but they were so empty and lifeless. I made her feel… sad for him. She didn't know why, but it did.

He took a step closer to her, but he was stopped instantly.

"Don't go near her Justin. Leave her be." It was Lord Death; he came and stood between Akari and Justin.

"Oh, I almost forgot you were there. Shinigami." Justin basically spat the last word. "You were so quiet." He turned and looked at Marie and Stein standing together only a short distance away. "Pigs…" he muttered under his breath before turning his head.

This enraged Marie. "What did you say you evil little"-

Stein grabbed his partner by the arm before she could do anything. "Marie, let it go, calm down!"

"We give this punk a second chance, and this is how he repays us? I swear if I get a hold of him"-

"MARIE! Stop this nonsense right now." Shinigami scolded her. She slowly stopped, and let her arms fall to her sides in embarrassment and defeat.

"Yes, Lord Death." She said quietly and returned to her position next to Stein.

"That's right, obey your master you disgusting animal." Justin hissed menacingly, showing teeth.

"That's enough from you too!" Shinigami yelled, he was obviously losing his patience, which was something that didn't happen very often.

Justin didn't even flinch. He just continued to stare, unmoving and quiet.

Akari looked around the room, and her gaze landed on the members of Spartoi once more. None of them seemed very happy right about now. She could see anger flash through the young Shinigami's eyes as they were fixated on the person rebelling against his father. The one tan-haired girl with green eyes was standing with the purple-haired mystery gender kid again, whispering comforting words into uh… "his" ear. Also, a very loud and obnoxious blue-haired child was being calmed down by what seemed to be his partner and weapon. A tall and somewhat pretty girl, she tried to get him to lower his voice as he ranted about "Surpassing god, and beating this jerk's face in." Akari assumed he meant Justin when he said "jerk".

Akari turned her attention back to Lord Death, he didn't seem pleased.

"Justin, I'm going to give you a chance to return the human souls you've taken. I hope you realize there will be consequences if you decide not to." Lord Death's voice darkened as he spoke to the young Death Scythe.

Justin smiled, that creepy "stop-you-in-your-tracks", type of smile. "You expect me to just hand over these souls to you? Your more naïve than I thought, Shinigami."

Akari flinched; he spoke with so much venom and hatred in his voice... It was a little frightening to listen too. The fact that he had no fear of Lord Death stunned her as well. To think you'd stand up against a god like that, it was plain insanity. No, it was suicide.

"Yes, in fact, I do expect you to hand them over; now." Lord Death was becoming more and more angry with Justin. It was audible in his tone of voice. Justin had apparently heard it too, and he quickly took advantage over it.

"Oh, is someone mad because things aren't going his way? Hmmm?" Justin mocked the Grim Reaper. "You can't possibly expect me to listen to you pigs." His eyes narrowed as he stared at Shinigami and the three others standing close to him. Stein and Marie's eyes narrowed at his remark, Akari just focused on Justin and listened intently.

"I expect you to listen, and to obey." Shinigami stated in a proud tone, "Or you will be defeated again, Justin. There won't be any hesitation."

"I will not listen or obey; your presence is meaningless to me. I will not bow down to your pathetic existence like the rest of these fools." He looked towards the crowd. "They're nothing but domestic animals that you've warped… How revolting."

The members of Spartoi were all enraged; Akari could see it on all of their faces. It made Justin smile as he observed from afar; their faces must've satisfied him. Akari heard one of them speak from the sidelines:

"No you're the warped fool! I'll teach you a lesson for calling the great Black*star domestic!"

Akari recognized the voice, it was that extremely loud blue-haired boy again… did he know how to close his mouth? She could see him throwing a fit as he was being held back by his partner again. Akari thought it was a little funny to see. _That boy must be full of himself._ She thought quietly... Her attention flicked back to what was happening to Justin and the Grim Reaper, but the next thing she knew, she was shoved aside by Stein.

"Pay attention Akari! LOOK OUT!" It took Akari a few seconds to realize Stein had just pushed her out of the way of Justin.

Akari once again, was on the floor. Staring up at Stein towering over her, with Marie latched onto his right arm in her weapon form. Justin was off to the side, grinning like a maniac. Lord Death already had Spirit in his weapon form as well, ready to defend his students. He was only feet away from Akari, but she couldn't help feeling vulnerable on the floor.

"Akari! Move and hurry!' It was Marie's voice, "AKARI! Get up!"

Akari snapped out of it, and stood up quickly. _What happened while I wasn't paying attention?_

She looked over to where Justin stood; his arm was shining in the iridescent light. It caught Akari's attention and she focused in on it. _Is that… the blade from a Guillotine? _Her eyes widened in realization. _That's what he is? A GUILLOTINE?_

Then next thing she heard was Justin's voice. "So, you guys are going to protect her like that? You won't win; her power is too dangerous an unstable. Anyone that can control aura is an enemy of mine." He looked directly at Akari and smiled. "Her healing powers are a threat to me."

_How does he know I can control aura? _Akari froze in place. _He wants to kill me because of it... _Stein stood protectively in front of Akari, along with the Grim Reaper. Both of them readied their weapons in case Justin were to make a single move. Many Death Scythes and weapons on the sidelines had already transformed and were in the hands of their meisters. All of Spartoi was ready in an instant, in case they needed to fight as well. Akari heard Shinigami's voice:

"Justin, this is your last chance. Back down or I'll have to take your soul back, I won't hesitate."

Akari looked past the form of the Grim Reaper and Stein's body in front of her to see Justin standing not too far away.

"I thought my last chance was a while ago? Maybe your losing track, Shinigami?" He smirked again; it made Akari shiver in fear.

Some people on the sidelines stepped forward, but Lord Death cut them off.

"Don't come any closer! That's what he wants all of you to do, he'll set traps." That information made everyone in the crowd take a couple steps backwards. The thought of Justin setting traps for them all, was a little frightening.

_He's capable of doing something like that? Setting traps… What can't he do?_ Akari thought to herself from behind the protection of Stein and Lord Death. _They're risking their lives to protect me…_ Suddenly, her fear started to lift. _I can't let him hurt anyone! I'm not a helpless fool, I can protect myself!_

Akari's willpower took over. She closed her eyes, and let her power surge. She let the energy of others flow through her, amplifying her abilities. She focused her mind on the auras of the others, and even though her eyes were closed, she could clearly make out everything that was happening around her. Akari, with the power to sense and control aura, could never be blinded. With her ability to sense all living things, she could easily make out a single person in a crowd of imposters within a split second. She focused in on Justin's aura; it was blue, tinged with a darkened color. A color, she'd never seen on another person before, but then again, no one's aura was exactly the same.

_Why are you acting like this? What's wrong Justin?..._ Akari looked in deeper, and then she could feel it. The sensation of it made her gag, the insanity flowing off of him in waves made her mind go numb. _It's not him acting up… it's the madness trapped inside of him! With a concentration like this, I'm surprised he hasn't started tearing us all apart already. I'm amazed that he's sane enough to be having a conversation!_

Akari's eyes snapped open when she heard Justin speak, and focused in on him from behind her two protectors. "Well then, let's see who dies first, Shinigami. This little game should be fun for us both."

After he had finished speaking; Justin launched forward with incredible speed, his bladed arm extended in front of him. Shinigami did the same wielding Spirit as his scythe. The two collided in the center of the room; sparks flew everywhere when the two bladed edges met. The two proceeded to slash at each other vengefully. Many people had to move out of the way as Justin dodged Shinigami's attacks with precision and speed.

Akari's eyes widened. _I can't let this happen; they'll both end up hurt!_

She was brought back to reality when she heard a sickening thud. She looked over to where the sound had come from, and saw Justin on the ground with Shinigami directly above him, Spirit's blade against his neck. Justin started to laugh. A pool of scarlet blood was visible around his pinned down body.

Akari stood up, and readied herself for the risk she was about to take…

"Haha… Well, are you gonna finish me or what? Go on… you know you want too." Justin teased as his laugh echoed throughout the room. "Or don't you have the guts to kill me?"

"I gave you your last chance, Justin, now I'm keeping my word by taking back your soul." Shinigami said in a disdainful tone. "I will finish you"- SMASH!

Akari forced all of her energy into Lord Death, knocking him away from Justin and smack into the wall with a thud. Aura energy spun around her like a torrent of water, and it flared at the sight of Shinigami.

People tensed at the sight of her attacking Lord Death. Many gripped their weapons harder, and some turned away so they didn't have to look.

"Don't touch him." Akari said to Shinigami as he picked himself up off the ground, "Or… uh… I'll do that again!"

Lord Death picked himself up, and looked towards Akari. He nodded slowly, full of confusion. Stein and Marie gasped, along with many other spectators.

Justin lay on the floor, and his eyes widened at the sight of what the girl had just done for him. However, his momentary sanity didn't last long…

"What was that for? Stupid pig, attacking your own master." Justin stood up, blood trickling down his side. His hand flew up to his chest, as he gripped the source of pain. He let out a gasp, each breath causing sharp pain in his side. His eyes closed as he waited for Shinigami to return, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes slowly, expecting someone to attack him, but no one stirred. His eyes locked onto the girl next to him.

Akari moved closer to him and aura energy began to swirl around her once more. She concentrated all of her power into her next move. _I have to make this count, I'm only going to get one chance…._ She launched herself forward, slamming herself with all her force into an unsuspecting Justin. She hit him square in the chest. He gasped as the force of her wavelength slammed into his; the two forms of energy sending shockwaves through his body.

A burst of aura energy and multicolored light momentarily illuminated the whole Death Room, and may people winced at its intensity. When the light faded, the only thing remaining in the center of the room was the two seventeen year olds.

Both were on the floor, Akari was lying atop a now unconscious Justin Law. She stirred and managed to sit up, letting out a squeal of surprise when she noticed how close she was to him. He didn't stir. _Did I hit him too hard?..._She thought to herself.

Lord Death made his way over to them, and stopped when he was inches away. He stretched out one of his hands to Akari. Stein, Marie, Spirit, and the rest of the crowd began to inch closer as well.

"Need a little help standing up?" Shinigami asked the girl, Akari nodded and grabbed his hand. He helped her up gently and made sure she was stable before he let go. He spoke again:

"Akari, what have you done?" Shinigami asked with a puzzled look on his face. "He's completely out cold…"

"Well sir you see"- But Akari was cut off by the sound of another voice.

"If I may explain sir." It was the Death Scythe, Azusa. "I believe Akari's goal was to release the built up insanity from within Justin's soul." She paused to look down at the once again unconscious boy. "I can't sense anymore madness wavelengths from him. In fact, I think he may be back to his normal state of being."

"You don't say… interesting." Lord Death became silent for a moment. "Was that your true intention Akari?"

The girl didn't say anything, but nodded her head in response to his question.

Akari finally built up enough courage to speak again. "I'm sorry if I hurt you in any way sir, but if I hadn't stopped you"-

Lord Death cut her off before she could finish. "It's alright, I understand. I was being very irrational; I shouldn't have taken things to that level anyway." He looked down at Justin's still figure. "Now would probably be a good time to confiscate his human souls… Let's do that!" His cheery tone returned to his voice almost instantly.

Lord Death quickly made his way closer to Justin. He rubbed his hands together and unleashed his power:

"Shinigami… SOUL RETRIEVAL!"

Lord Death began levitating Justin body off the floor with a dark energy mass. Figures of the Shinigami lined the edges of the matter. It swirled and spun around the levitating body. The energy began to grow lighter and lighter, as it spun faster. Within a few seconds, Lord Death opened up Justin's soul and released the three souls he'd been hoping for: Tezca Tlipoca, Joe Buttataki, and Granny's.

He gently set Justin back onto the floor and absorbed the three souls into the palm of his hand. He spoke once more in his cheery tone to the crowd, loud enough so everyone could hear:

"I have successfully obtained the three souls from Justin, but they will not be revived today. It seems that Akari has exhausted herself. Am I correct?"

He turned towards the girl, and she shook her head yes in response to his question.

"Alright then. The rest of this situation will be taken care of by me and Akari. The rest of you are dismissed! I'll see you all soon!"

The crowd burst into a frenzy. Many were very confused; they felt like they needed to stay in case Justin were to wake up again. Akari recognized a certain teacher as he stepped forward to settle down the crowd.

"Lord Death has just ordered you all to leave. He wouldn't do so if he knew you'd be needed. Let us leave at his request!"

The Grim Reaper turned his head toward the Shibusen teacher, "Thank you very much for your assistance Sid."

The zombie nodded and proceeded to guide the rest of the group out of the Death Room. It was only a matter of minutes before it was only Akari, Lord Death, and an unconscious Justin in the now barren room next to the mirror. Lord Death was the first to speak:

"Now then, Akari. Do you think you could wake him up somehow? There's something important I have to discuss with the two of you."

She froze, and thought to herself. _He wants Justin awake? What does he mean by the two of us? _She looked at the Grim Reaper to make sure he wasn't joking.

"Go on, I'm sure it'll be alright." He said to her in his childish voice.

Akari nodded and sat down next to Justin. The girl looked at him for a moment and her eyes rested upon his kishin earphones. She reluctantly reached out and grabbed one of the ear pieces and hesitantly tugged. She heard a small "click" as the phones were pulled out of whatever device they were attached too. She gently pulled the black cord out of his shirt through its neckline and quickly shoved them into her pocket where they'd be out of his sight. _I can't let him see these again…_ She thought to herself. She quickly inspected the rest of his clothes, they seemed normal and there weren't any more symbols of the kishin to be found on them. She relaxed a little and continued.

She gently placed her hands on his chest, forced some of her wavelength into his soul and it immediately rejected Akari's. She knocked the wind out of him, and as a result his eyes shot open as he gasped for breath. He sat up almost instantly and coughed, trying to stabilize himself.

This scared Akari and she quickly jumped up next to Lord Death for protection. The two watched in silence as Justin tried to stand up; his back was to them. Justin eventually balanced out and managed to finish the task of standing. Akari wondered if Justin even noticed they were standing there…Then Lord Death broke the silence with his strangely comforting voice:

"So are you feeling better now Justin? You gave us all quite a scare you know!"

The noise startled him, and he quickly turned around to face them. His eyes were wide, but they seemed different somehow. They weren't as dull and lifeless as they had been earlier.

Justin swallowed before he spoke, "Lord Death sir, I feel. Different… What's going on?"

Lord Death responded happily, "Don't worry Justin, I've got this all figured out!"

"But sir what's"-

"This is what I'm going to do! Akari, do you think you could watch over him for a while?" He turned to the girl.

Akari jumped, "You want me to do what?" She paused, "Well, I guess…if you wanted me too." She didn't want to disobey Shinigami, so she tried to make it sound like she agreed with whatever he was thinking.

"IT'S SETTLED THEN!" Shinigami cried happily.

"What's settled?" Akari and Justin both asked the Grim Reaper in unison. Justin was extremely confused. He looked from Akari to The Grim Reaper and back again.

"Well isn't it obvious? I'm making you two partners!" Lord Death explained to them with joy audible in his voice.

"PARTNERS?" The two teens exclaimed in shock.


	2. Chapter 2

**Cursed Soul: Man, that last chapter was a failure! *bangs head on computer***

**Akari: Oh, it wasn't that bad... Except for the fact that I'm stuck with this freak now. *points at Justin***

**Justin: Yeah right, calling me the freak. 'Says the one that can't wield a weapon'.**

**Akari: You're the one to talk!**

**Cursed Soul: SHUT UP YOU TWO! You're disturbing the viewers!**

**Justin and Akari: 0_o**

**Cursed Soul: Once again, Soul Eater doesn't belong to me, and I'm pretty sure it never will... That would be awesome though. ;D**

New Beginnings

"What do you mean, partners?" Akari said to Lord Death questioningly.

The Grim Reaper chuckled, "Well, considering you have the power to keep madness at bay, you'd naturally be the best choice as his partner Akari."

"Madness…" Justin muttered to himself quietly, a little confused on how it was connected to him in any way.

"But I don't"- She was cut off quickly by the boy standing across from her.

"Shinigami sir, not to interrupt, but I am an autonomous weapon! I don't need a partner." Justin said disdainfully, as he took a step forward. "Besides, I don't think someone could wield a guillotine anyway…"

"Nonsense you two! Things will work out nicely this way, you'll see." Said the Reaper cheerfully, "One of the reasons why is because both of you have never had partners before either. I'd like you both to the have that experience as well."

The two both started to speak almost instantly, but were cut off once more by the Reaper. "But sir"- They said.

"I want your partnership to start immediately. Akari, your now Justin's new meister and partner." Shinigami's singsong voice echoed through the room.

"WHAT?" Akari's eyes grew wide at the Reaper's idea.

"And Justin, you will serve her well as her new weapon! I trust you two will be a nice match!" Lord Death added excitedly.

The boy winced; Akari could tell he didn't like the idea of a forced partnership. He stayed quiet though, and didn't object.

_He's probably so used to being alone…._The girl thought to herself. Akari's mouth nearly fell open at the thought of being Justin's knew partner, the shock was unbearable. Then suddenly, she remembered an important detail about herself that the Grim Reaper must have overlooked accidentally.

"Shinigami, sir, I think you may have forgotten… I've never had a weapon because my wavelength isn't compatible at all. I wouldn't be able to wield Justin even if I wanted too." Akari said gently to the listening Reaper, hoping to ease her way out of becoming Justin's meister.

"Oh, that's an interesting predicament… But you two will become partners regardless of the current situation!"

Akari still continued on, "But sir, what's the point then? We won't be any use to each other."

The Reaper just shook off Akari's attempt to end their partnership, and continued on, "Now, I don't want you two leaving Death City yet. I will arrange a place for you two to stay together here. So, Akari can keep a close eye on you Justin and I won't be too far away."

Justin's eyes widened. "You're going to make us _stay_ together? Sir, isn't that going a little too far?..."

"I don't see a problem with it!" Lord Death stated happily. "Besides, I think you guys will like it as well!"

The two teens looked at each other when the Reaper said that, and Akari's face grew hot. She looked away quickly and Justin did the same.

The Grim Reaper quickly ended the awkward silence between the two, "Now was there anything else I needed to explain?…Hmmm…. I feel like I'm forgetting something."

Akari figured out what he had forgotten, "Sir, are you thinking about the souls I still need to revive?"

The Shinigami snapped his fingers as he remembered what he had forgotten, "Yes, that's it! I need you to report to this room once a day, that way we can revive a single soul daily. Is that alright with you, Akari?'

The girl nodded, "If that's what you prefer Lord Death, I'm fine with it."

"Very well. Stop by whenever you can during the day; I'll be here!" The Grim Reaper said cheerily, "You two are now dismissed, but please stay in the Academy momentarily until I can find a place for you to stay. It'll only take an hour or two, and I'll send a teacher to give you the information later."

The two teens nodded and turned to leave the Death Room, walking silently under the black and red row of guillotines towering above them. Akari's whole body shivered as she looked up at the shining blades uncomfortably. _I'll never look at those the same way again…_

Akari stayed a couple feet behind Justin, just to be cautious, as they walked out together in silence. She was still very wary about his whole personality change. He'd gone from an insane killer, to a somewhat regular guy within an hour. It puzzled her a little bit.

Once they were safely out of the Death Room and away from Lord Death, the two began to wander the hallways of Shibusen. Akari noticed that many of the classrooms were full through the windows. _That's right, school's in session now…_ Akari glanced toward the boy a few paces ahead of her. She moved to the left, to get a better look at him. He walked in perfect rhythm and his eyes were blank, as if he were staring into space. _He's not very talkative. I wonder what's on his mind… _Akari continued to inspect the person a few paces ahead of her, and remained silent. She continued to think. _He seems off, I wonder if he even remembers his own betrayal… Maybe I damaged his memory during the impact?…_

"What are you doing?" A voice interrupted her thoughts. Akari stopped, and her eyes locked onto Justin's, who had turned to face her. Both of them halted in the middle of the hallway.

Akari stammered, "Oh, uh, I was just"-

"You were staring at me. Why?" The boy attempted to pry an answer out of her.

Akari froze; his voice chilled her to the bone. She tried to speak, but no answer would come. Justin turned his head away, a hurt look on his face.

"I didn't mean to frighten you; if that's what's wrong. I'm a little lost right now." He said quietly to the girl. He took a step back, to try and get her to loosen up.

Akari took a step closer, ignoring his previous action because of her curiosity, and asked him, "What do you mean by _lost_?"

The blonde turned to face her; he was obviously very confused, "Well, for starters… Why is it so quiet in here? Shouldn't everyone be preparing for the infiltration of Baba Yaga's Castle? Everyone's in class!" He even pointed to one of the classroom doors to prove his point, and he waited patiently for her to respond.

Akari couldn't believe her ears. _Maybe he has lost his memory after all…_ She thought to herself. _Maybe I can force him to remember if I mention an event or something… _So, she asked the boy, "What are you talking about? We already infiltrated Baba Yaga's Castle about three months ago."

Justin's blue eyes instantly widened in disbelief, "What do you mean three _months_ ago? We just returned from Lost Island yesterday!"

"Yesterday?" _Oh no!_ Akari thought to herself. _How am I going to explain all of this to him?… He obviously doesn't remember that he betrayed Shibusen or even the events during the last three months! _Akari swallowed. _How am I going to tell him he's a murderer?..._

Justin looked at the girl a few feet away from him, waiting for her answer patiently. Akari was just about to open her mouth to speak when:

BBBLLLLIIINNNGGGG! The school's bell rang, signaling the end of the day, and dismissed classes. Students began to empty out of the classrooms farther down the hallway.

_SCHOOL'S OVER? I can't let them see Justin! There'll be a riot! _ Akari thought to herself desperately. The girl quickly grabbed the boy by the arm and took off in the opposite direction of the huge concentration of students.

The boy squirmed behind her, "What are you doing? Where are you taking me?" He tried to break free of her grasp but Akari's grip tightened on his shirt as she guided him into an unused classroom. She shoved him inside and quickly shut the door, hoping no one had noticed them enter. Akari quickly found a light switch and flipped it on, making both of them wince in the new brightness.

"I hope no one saw us, that was really close." Akari said as she turned to look at the boy who was now leaning up against the wall with his eyes shut and hands behind his head, next to the door. The girl surveyed the room they had managed to escape into.

Akari noticed that this was one of the older classrooms that was no longer being used. It was dusty and neglected, the walls had multiple holes in them, the floors were scuffed, the desks were scratched, chairs were scattered, the ceiling was falling apart, and the chalkboard was hanging on one side. Akari coughed as some dust flew up when she moved away from the door and farther into the abandoned classroom.

"Do you plan on telling me what's exactly going on, or are you gonna drag me somewhere else?" Akari turned to face the source of the voice.

He was only inches away from her, he must've left his position against the wall; it surprised Akari when she noticed. She put some distance between him by taking a step back. His eyes narrowed.

Akari couldn't think of how to start. "Oh, well…you see"-

"I want to know what's going on, and why you're so afraid of me." He said to her gently. "You can tell me, right?"

"I-it's just that, I don't know how to tell you…" Akari dropped her gaze; she didn't want to look at him. She started twiddling with her hair out of nervous habit.

"What did I do to make you so scared of me?" He asked the girl again quietly. "And what was with the whole Baba Yaga's Castle joke earlier? You were joking…weren't you?"

Akari looked up, and she saw how confused he was. He was watching her, searching for an answer or something that could possibly give him a clue to what was going on. _I can't tell him about what he did… I don't know what to do! _The girl thought to herself.

"Well?" He asked again, even softer than before.

"I-I can't tell you! I just can't…" Akari choked, she couldn't bear the thought of telling him all of the horrible things he'd done recently. She didn't want to hurt him… to give him that sort of terrible news, and to see his hurt face afterwards.

"You can't tell me? Did I do something wrong?" There was worry in his voice, as if he wasn't sure about himself.

Akari picked her head up. "I-I… I can't tell you now, but…"

"But what?" He questioned, his forget-me-not blue eyes softening once more, which made Akari's face grow hot. She looked away again so he wouldn't notice.

Once she knew her blush had disappeared, she raised her head once more and said,

"I promise, I'll explain everything to you soon." Akari said confidently, hoping he would believe her suggestion. She waited quietly before he answered.

He sighed and was quiet for a moment before he said to her, "You _promise_ me that you explain later?"

Akari nodded, "I never break my promises; so yes, I'll explain everything later."

He didn't look very satisfied at her answer, but he spoke anyway, "Alright, I suppose I can trust you enough to keep that promise. I won't force an answer out of you. Ak-uh…um, what's your name again?"

Akari looked at him questioningly, "It's Akari, Justin." She smiled after she spoke, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Oh, I'm sorry Akari. I've never been that good at names." He smiled back at her, and rubbed the back of his head with is hand. The understanding made both of them feel much better.

She giggled, "Don't worry; I'm not very good at them either." She walked over to one of the old desks and sat down. Justin came over and stood next to her, and waited patiently. His eyes wandered around the room, taking in every detail. Akari noticed his behavior quickly.

"You can sit down if you want to, silly. I'm not gonna force you to stand." She said playfully, hoping he'd loosen up.

"Oh, I was just looking around…" He said, as he still surveyed the room.

"Why? What's there to look at, it's trashed in here."

"It's just… because I haven't been in this room for a while. That's all." He looked down at her from where he was standing, and he noticed her confusion.

"If you're wondering what I mean," He sat down on the desk to the left of her, "This used to be my classroom four years ago when I was still a student."

"Wait, this has only been vacant for four years? It looks like it's been sitting here for twenty!" Akari exclaimed, and then asked a question after a moment of silence in the room. "You used to have class in here?"

He nodded. "I didn't even realize it until a minute ago, but yeah, I'm sure this is the place." He sighed, "This class was mainly Duel Arts and Weapon Transfiguration, which explains why it's completely destroyed in here."

Akari watched closely as the boy sitting next to her sighed. "I never had the chance to enter Duel Arts." Akari said in a sad tone, "I wouldn't have been strong enough anyway. No one thought I could handle it."

Justin looked at her as he spoke with understanding in his voice, "I know what that's like, being alone." His gaze drifted to the floor. "And to be teased by others."

Akari's eyes widened, "People used to tease you? Why?"

He looked up, "Oh well, just about being autonomous. They hated the fact that I didn't need a partner, and no one particularly liked me."

"What did you do?" Akari asked, hoping to keep the conversation going.

He shrugged. "I tried to ignore it, but sometimes it was a little overwhelming…No one ever treated me very nicely. I didn't have any friends either…"

"Well, that's one thing we have in common then." Akari said to him, he looked up, hope shown in his eyes. "Try being a meister that can't wield a weapon." She nudged him in the side with her elbow happily.

He chuckled at her friendly gesture and smiled, "Yeah, I guess I can't beat that."

"I only graduated from DWMA last year," Akari explained, "I didn't have friends either." She told him sadly as she twirled her hair. "Even now, people don't talk to me…"

The two sat in silence for a moment, until Justin spoke. "No one ever talks to me either, you know; not in a 'friend' sort of way."

"Really?" Akari asked quietly, "Don't the other Death Scythes talk to you at all?'

Justin shook his head. "Not really. I mean, every now and then when they have too, but not to be nice or anything like that."

He looked at her, sadness was readable on his usually blank face, and he looked downwards soon after. _He must be so lonely. I know what it's like to be shunned by others. I wonder… _Akari thought to herself quietly. Then she realized they were both still in the abandoned classroom, time had passed faster than she thought.

"Well, let's get outta here." Akari said happily as she hopped of the desk she was sitting on earlier. The girl made it all the way to the door when she realized her companion hadn't followed her. Justin didn't move from his seat, he continued to stare at the floor with an unreadable expression on his face.

Akari watched him sadly, her gaze softened. The girl walked over to him and grabbed his right hand tenderly.

"Come on silly. You don't wanna stay in here forever do you?" Akari said to him gently.

His glazed eyes lightened and he tilted his head upward to see her. Akari smiled and then squeezed his hand. She helped him up off the desk and the she took him to the door. He followed her silently, lost in thought. Before Akari opened the door, she stopped him, and let go of his hand. He didn't object.

She opened the door slowly and quietly, and stuck her head out just enough to check up and down the hallway. _Good, no one's out here anymore. We can come out now._ She thought to herself in relief.

The two walked out of the vacant classroom and Akari shut the door that creaked as it closed. Justin looked at her, puzzled, once they made it into the hallway.

"Why did you check to see if anyone was out here before I left the room?" He questioned his companion with an unnerving stare.

"Oh, well uh"-

He stopped her before she could finish when he raised his hand to silence her. "Does it have to do with what you're explaining to me later?" He let his arm fall.

Akari nodded. "I promised you though, so I'll explain it soon."

He shook his head from side to side, "Everything keeps getting more confusing…" He rubbed his head then turned to face her again. "So the reason we even entered that room was because you were _hiding_ me? Was it because of the students?" He paused for a second afterwards and suddenly realized he was questioning her again. So, he took a step back.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry… I-I'll just wait till you explain later." He apologized to her quickly, stammering a little, and his gaze dropped to the floor.

Akari smiled, "Oh, it's alright. I understand why you want to know, so don't freak out." She said to him with a hint of amusement in her voice. He relaxed almost instantly when she finished speaking. He looked like he wanted to ask her something…

"Oh, uh, quick question." He said to her before she could speak. "Have you seen a pair of Skull earphones anywhere? Uh, I don't know what could have happened because I'm sure I was wearing them earlier; and I wanted to listen to my music."

Akari instanlty froze. _He noticed! I took his kishin headphones earlier! What do I say? He doesn't know that the ones he had were marked with darkness. I can't let him find out about them, it might jog his memory! _She quickly made an excuse, but it was convincing enough to fool the boy momentarily.

"Oh… I haven't seen them, but I have some earphones you could use later. Sorry, but I don't have them with me right now…" She said to him.

"I see… Well, maybe they'll pop up somewhere." He shrugged and his face softened after a moment. "You'd really let me use yours though?"

"Would I say so if I wouldn't?" She said with a smirk. "I'll give them to you as soon as I can, I wouldn't lie to you."

He paused for a second then said happily to her, "Thanks a ton, I'd die without my music!" The two were closer now and the cold atmosphere from earlier had all but faded away.

She giggled, "I know how that feels! I love music too, but I forgot my D-Pod at home." She said sadly at the thought of being separated from her precious device.

"You like music too? What kind?" His blue eyes immediately lit up and he took a black and white Death Pod out of his pocket to show her his personal treasure.

"Oh, my favorite is rock. I can't stand country though." She made a face when she mentioned the second genre of music. "Although, I'm pretty open to every other style." She paused, "Can I look at your music?"

He was surprised for a moment, "Oh, sure you can! Here." He gently handed her the device after unlocking the touch screen's password. She handled it carefully and inspected his music. She scrolled down his list of songs and noticed that many of her favorite artists were included in his playlists. _He likes darker music, interesting…_ She thought to herself.

"You know what's funny? I like rock too, but my favorite would have to be metal. I can't stand country either; I don't know how anyone could listen to that music." He added excitedly, as he explained his interests to the girl. His eyes showing a hint of sparkle.

"Well, there's another thing we have in common then. Jeez, maybe we should start a list!" The girl joked with amusement in her voice.

"Alright. Where should I write this down?" He joked to his friend. His question made Akari laugh and then she spoke again.

"You have nice taste mister. We'll have to listen to some later!" She teased playfully. She gave him back his music player and he put it back in his pocket. He seemed a little more relaxed.

"I suppose we could listen to some later, my D-Pod has speaker settings." He suggested.

"That sounds nice." She said with a small smile.

She could tell it made him feel more comfortable around her when they talked. Now she knew a subject he was interested in, and it made her feel a little more connected to him. The fact that she had gotten him to openly converse surprised her. Akari stood there silently for a moment, and then she suddenly spoke again.

"Come on; let's go outside for a while." Akari said to him happily, grabbing him by the hand and dragging him down the hallway towards the nearest doors that would lead them outside.

"Why outside? Didn't Lord Death say we should wait indoors?" Justin asked her quickly, hoping he wouldn't end up disappointing the Reaper by disobeying.

"Yes, he said we should stay in the academy, but I'm sure he won't mind if we stay on the school grounds. Besides I could use some fresh air, and I bet you could too!" She continued to lead him through the school, looking back at him and giving the boy a warm smile.

Justin didn't resist, he figured she'd end up getting him there one way or another.

_She's so persistent. _He thought to himself as he was dragged unwillingly down the hallway towards the closest pair of doors. _But it bothers me that she won't explain what's going on… I suppose I should just be patient and wait._

Akari quickly pushed open the doors and walked out with Justin, into the midsummer sunshine. The two had made it out, and the girl proceeded to drag her companion farther than he expected. They flew up a flight of steps leading to the school's roof. Once the pair made it up onto the balcony, Akari finally let go of the poor boy behind her.

"Was it really necessary to bring me all the way up here?" Justin asked her, panting a little as he spoke.

"Well duh, silly. You need to loosen up more, and what's better than relaxing for a bit under the warm sun? Nothing, that's what!" Akari said to him as she found a comfortable place to sit on the stone wall above the academy.

Justin stood a couple steps away from her and watched silently. He didn't know whether he should stay put or join her on the wall. He decided it was best to stay put.

Akari sighed when she realized he wasn't going to move from his spot, "Come over here, I don't bite. Well, mostly anyway." She patted a spot next to her as she spun around to look out over the school's edge.

The boy didn't move for a moment, until he finally forced himself and walked over to where the girl sat on the ledge. He stopped and turned around to lean up against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and one foot up against the stone wall. He shut his eyes and stood there, perfectly still. Akari turned to face him after he showed no attempt to sit on the ledge with her.

"Oh come up here already!" She grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up the wall next to her. She had pulled so hard it had nearly choked the boy as he squirmed trying to get her to let go. Once Akari had him in the position she wanted next to her, she released her grip so he could finally breathe. They were so close, they're arms were brushing up against each other.

Justin gasped for air, "Did you really have to do that? I nearly died!" He put his hand to his chest and exhaled deeply, shutting his eyes and gripping his shirt tightly.

Akari laughed, "Yes, you look like you're about to keel over any second now." She nudged him in his side while she spoke to him.

"If you would've kept yanking I might have!" He exclaimed, looking down at her. "You nearly tore my shirt!" He inspected his clothes for damage but found nothing out of the ordinary besides his now askew shirt. He calmly straightened out his clothing, and then let his arms fall to his sides. It was then that he realized how much taller he was than the girl. A whole head taller and his shoulders were almost double the length of hers. He tried not to stare.

"Isn't this nice?" She asked him as she looked out over the city in awe. "I haven't done this in such a long time."

Justin followed her gaze out and over the city. It did look nice, he had to agree. They could see friends walking together down below and watch the daily life of the city from their perch above. It seemed so peaceful in Death City, like nothing could touch them. Clouds slowly moved across the sky in a fluff array of shapes. He sighed. He liked the feeling of the warm sun on his skin, but his mind kept flicking back to Akari. He didn't understand why, and he couldn't find an exact reason. So, he forced himself not to look in her direction by closing his eyes and taking in the fresh outside air. He tilted his head back and let the sun shine upon his face, the heat and warmth relaxing him inside and out.

The two of them were sitting on the wall above the academy, feet dangling over the edge. A gentle breeze picked up and their hair swayed under the warm sun in sync. The sweet smell of summer dew and crisp air gently swirled around them that rejuvenated their souls. He turned to the girl next to him when he heard her speak.

"Hmm... Now doesn't that feel great?" She closed her silver eyes and spoke to him softly. "I can tell you're enjoying it."

"Well, I suppose it does feel kinda good." He said to her as she opened her shining eyes to look at her companion once more.

"Silly and you didn't want to come outside. You would've missed this wonderful weather!" She said happily as she raised her arms and stretched them out. She let her arms fall to her sides once more, brushing up against the boy next to her accidentally. Her face grew red and she turned away, hoping he wouldn't notice. He didn't, to her relief.

"Yeah…" He said to himself quietly; looking out over the city once more. _ What a nice view, to think I've never done this before… _He thought.

"What was that?" Akari asked him. "I didn't hear you."

"O-oh, it was nothing. Just mumbling to myself." He explained as he stammered little. He hadn't expected her to ask a question like that.

She sighed in relief. "Ok, I thought I missed something important for a second there." She paused and asked, "So, when's the last time you've been up here? It's been a while for me."

She felt his body stiffen at her question. She looked toward him, sadness in her normally uplifting eyes. "You haven't done this before, have you?" She asked him in a soft voice.

His gaze dropped, "N-no, I haven't…"

"Well that's a shame, but you are now!" She lightened the mood almost immediately. "I've always been alone when I've been up here… It's nice to sit in the sun and talk to someone for a while. Don't you think so too?"

"Yes, it is very rela"- He was cut off.

"There you two are!" The pair turned around almost instantly when they heard the voice not far behind them. The voice belonged to the Death Scythe and Demon Hammer, Marie.

"Marie? What are you doing up here?" Akari asked the Shibusen teacher with a confused look on her face.

"Well, while you two lovebirds have been sitting up here. I've been searching the entire building for you!" She exclaimed playfully. The two teens looked at each other in disgust when she said "lovebirds".

"We were just talking!" Akari attempted to convince her, obvious embarrassment was audible in her tone of voice.

"Well, aren't you two a little close to be _just talking_?" Marie pointed towards them, and eyed their sitting position suspiciously. They were sitting shoulder to shoulder, and yes, they were pretty close for a simple conversation. Akari jumped down from the ledge and put some distance between herself and Justin. She walked over to Marie, leaving him on the wall to watch the two girls from afar.

"Wait, you said you were looking for us right?" Akari questioned once she was beside the Death Scythe. "Why?"

"Yes, I was looking for you two!" Marie said to the girl next to her. "I came to give you the address to your new apartment in Death City." She took a small envelope out of her skirt's pocket and placed it into Akari's now outstretched hand.

"The door key is in there as well, or I'm pretty sure it is anyway…." She said happily as Akari started to open the piece of paper. Sure enough, there was a small key in there as well as a folded message. The key was small and black, with intricate white markings all over the surface.

Justin had now left his seat on the wall and was standing behind his partner; looking over Akari's shoulder at the piece of paper she was unfolding. When she finished unfolding it he read aloud:

"1224 Lunar Avenue, West Side - Division 4…" He finished reading it out loud to Akari, who had also read it herself. Just to be sure there weren't any mistakes.

"1224 Lunar Avenue? Where is that?" She said confused, as she looked up at the boy leaning above her shoulder.

"I think I know where it is, it's not that far from here actually." Justin said to her, Akari relaxed a little.

"Well, at least we have a general idea of where it could be." She said with a sigh of relief. "Otherwise we'd be wandering around aimlessly all night!"

"Well, you two had better go find it before it gets dark then. There's only a couple more hours of sunlight left." Marie told the pair gently. She stared at Justin though, there as obvious strain in her eyes. Akari could tell Marie still didn't trust him, and she didn't blame the Death Scythe. She had every reason to be suspicious of him.

Justin noticed Marie's behavior as well, but he remained quiet. _Why is she looking at me like that? Maybe it has to do with what Akari's explaining to me later… Why is this so confusing! _He thought to himself, but returned to reality when he heard Akari voice calling him.

"Justin, hey Justin! Return to Earth pal!" She was waving a hand in front of his face, and he winced out of surprise. "There ya go!" She exclaimed happily at her success.

Justin noticed that Marie had already disappeared down the steps and just barely saw her figure enter the doors leading into the academy. Akari suddenly grabbed him by the hand, began to walk down the steps and into the city.

"Come on Mr. Daydreamer; let's go find this place of ours." She said, turning to him and smiling, and for the first time in what seemed like forever. Justin smiled back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Cursed Soul: Oh ma god. I've neglected my stories for sooooo long. I apologize. D":**

**Justin: Oh really?... You've just realized this?**

**Akari: JUSTIN! Be nice to her! She's been so busy with school exams!**

**Cursed Soul: Yeaaaaahhhh... What she said! :D**

**Justin: I'm surrounded by so many pathetic people... *puts in earplugs to drown out noise***

**Cursed Soul & Akari: DON'T IGNORE ME! **

**Cursed Soul: Oh well... I still don't own Soul Eater, no matter how hard I try. *cries***

**Enjoy the Chapter~**

The Truth

The two had been wandering through Death City for a good half an hour when Justin told Akari that he thought the area seemed familiar somehow. The girl thought his behavior was a little strange, every now and then he'd become completely silent with a lost look on his face.

The sun was still up, which was a good thing. Akari didn't want to wander in darkness, even though neither of them had a clue what the real time was. _Is it about 7 o'clock? No that's too early. How much time do we have left to find this place? Why didn't Lord Death give us directions?_ Akari panicked. _We'll never find this apartment…_ Just then, Akari realized she couldn't hear Justin's footsteps behind her anymore. They'd stopped.

She instantly called out his name and scanned the area she was now facing. She spotted him, farther down the sidewalk, staring into one of the alleyways; he didn't move. She quickly ran over to his side.

"Justin! What are you doing? I almost lost you." She exclaimed. "Come on let's go." No answer, he hadn't even shifted his eyes from where they were locked onto..

"What are you staring at?" She asked him, he was still silent. She followed his gaze down the dark alleyway as she stood there next to him, puzzled. There was nothing, just a dark area. It was an ordinary alley, not a single living creature was in sight either. Something about it did feel off though…Then it hit her, like as slap across the face.

Her heart froze. _This is the alley were BJ was found dead!_ She took a step back, away from Justin out of fear. _This is the place where Justin committed a murder! Oh no! What if this restores his memory? What do I do?_ Then, she heard him speak:

"This place… It feels familiar to me, but I don't know why." He looked over his shoulder and his eyes locked with hers.

Akari could see the darkness flowing through his blue irises. It made her shiver, and she remembered what he was capable of doing to the people he killed. The thought of gore made her gag, and she tried her best not to show it.

Akari flashed back to before Justin's revival, and how Azusa and Marie had brought up BJ. The thing is… Akari had already met Joe; even though she had denied it herself during the revival. She knew who he was, and why Marie had cringed at the mention of his name. Akari didn't want to accept the thought of knowing him, because she couldn't bring herself to classify inspecting a dead corpse as technically "meeting" someone.

That's right, Akari had been there the night Joe Buttataki had been found dead. Lord Death had brought her to the scene himself. Many Shibusen staff members had been there as well. The sound of Marie's heartbroken cries sounded in Akari's ears and made them ache. Akari had inspected BJ to see if there was any hope of revival; but to no avail, his soul had gone missing. So, revival was impossible. She remembered Joe's sliced open chest that revealed his insides, the scarlet blood splattered up the walls of the alley that dripped slowly downward, and the torn pieces of his body spread out across the ground in agonizing disarray. The smell of it had made her nearly vomit that night. She flinched at the feeling of blood sticking to her shoes as she walked away from the dismembered body. She remembered the scattered cigarettes on the concrete as well, and how they had been placed there by the true murderer intentionally to frame an innocent Shibusen teacher that didn't deserve the horrible fate that almost fell upon him as punishment.

The scariest part was that she stood only feet away from the person that could repeat his actions tonight with a different soul, in the very same alley. She stared into Justin's opaque eyes, and neither of them moved a muscle. _I have to do something! I have to snap him out of it!_ She thought to herself in anxiety. So she tried to talk to him.

"J-Justin; let's go, o-ok? W-we have to find our apartment before it gets dark." Her voice shook uncontrollably as she spoke to him. It took a couple minutes of silence, but his eyes softened to her relief and they lost their eerie darkness.

He turned around completely, his back to the alley, and walked over next to his partner. Akari flinched when he came so close, only inches away from her. She closed her eyes tightly and turned her head away a little, preparing for the worst, but instead she heard his voice.

"Akari… are you alright?" She felt him grasp her shoulder gently with one hand.

Her eyes snapped open at his strange question and at his touch. She hadn't expected something like that to come out of his mouth. He sounded worried, and she tilted her head up to look at him. He let go of her once he had her attention.

"Y-yes, I'm fine." She said to him, still a little flustered.

He let out a sigh of relief, "Good, now let's go. This place is giving me the creeps." He turned and began walking in the direction the two had been originally taking before they had stopped. Akari stood there, more than confused than ever. _What the heck? He just walks away like nothing happened._

"Hey, are you coming or what?" She noticed his figure a little farther down the sidewalk; he'd stopped again to wait for her as he called out.

"Oh yeah, coming!" She said as she ran to catch up with him as he began walking again. It only took her a moment until she was side by side with Justin once more. The boy noticed she was nervous to be next to him. Her eyes were shifting and she tensed at the slightest noise. He tried to figure out what had spooked her, and thought back to what had happened only minutes ago. _Maybe I'm the one scaring her… No, she would've told me. At least, I think she would…_ He shook the thoughts from his mind and focused on finding the apartment.

"Akari, what street is this again?" He asked her, hoping to lift her fear.

She tensed up at the sound of his voice, "Oh, uh. I'm pretty sure this is Castro Street." She tried to talk calmly, but her voice still had a hint of uncertainty.

Justin stopped; Akari hadn't expected him to do so and kept walking. She stopped a step later when she realized he'd fallen behind. He looked lost in thought. He had one hand resting on his chin and his eyes narrowed.

"Wait a second. Are you sure?" Her partner asked suddenly.

Akari nodded. "Yup, there was a road sign back that way." She turned around pointed a little farther down the road here they had been earlier and it read, Castro Street. Just like the girl had said.

Justin snapped his fingers, "That's it! I remember now."

Akari jumped, "Wait! What do you remember?" She hoped it didn't have to do with the alley farther behind them. The girl hadn't prepared for his memory to return so soon.

"What are you so jumpy about?" He asked, with a quizzical expression. "I've figured out where Lunar Avenue is."

Akari's face immediately brightened. "Really? Where is it!"

The boy pointed farther down the road, where it branched into two separate divisions. "Division Four is right over there, I can read the sign, so Lunar Avenue must be there as well."

Akari hurried over to him and asked "Where? I don't see a sign."

"Look over there; it's on the lamp post." He instructed. "Next to the brick building."

Akari pressed up against his side to follow where he was pointing.

"I don't see a sign." Akari complained to the boy she was holding onto.

He put his arm around her shoulders and bent over slightly, so their eyes were level and it was easier to direct her gaze. The sides of their heads were close, and Justin felt her hair on his neck. He tried to ignore it as pointed down the road once again. "Look farther, its right over there. Do you see it?"

It took her a while to focus that far down the road, but she noticed one of the lamp posts had a black sign hanging from the center. Division Four was readable in small white ink, it was written in delicate calligraphy. It was blurry because she was so far away; she could make it out, but barely.

"You can read that from here?" She asked him with wide eyes, surprised at his ability to see that far away.

He chuckled, "Yes, I can read it from here. Would I have found it if I couldn't?" He suddenly realized how close she was, still pressed up against him. She showed no signs of letting go either. He couldn't help but turn a little pink. He straightened up, but still she didn't let go.

"Good point." She said happily, tightening her grip on his arm. "At least we're getting somewhere!"

Justin stiffened at her touch, and bit his lip.

"Uh, let's go then." He began walking again, and detached himself from her grasp. She caught up instantly and the two began to head down the road, side by side. Akari looked up into the sky, and it took her a few moments to find the sun. It had sunk behind most of the buildings, and the atmosphere had become significantly darker.

_Crap, it's gonna set soon. _Akari thought to herself. _We have to find this place now or we'll be wandering in the dark! _

The two continued down the road towards the sign that marked Division Four. Akari surveyed the area as much as she could, checking for anything that might lead them to Lunar Avenue. When she noticed something, it didn't feel right. Like the feeling you get when you're being watched, but more uneasy than that. Akari tilted her head to see Justin; he looked like he'd noticed it too. She asked him:

"Hey, Justin… Do you think someone's following us?" She looked over her shoulder, but not a soul was in sight. The only motion was from the streetlights beginning to flicker to life as the sun began going down. Shining light on the darkening city.

"I have that feeling too, but I haven't seen anyone." He said to her, his face blank and unreadable.

"You don't think we're being watched… Do you?" Akari's tone of voice changed, and was lined with worry. The two halted; Akari reached out and latched onto his arm again. He could feel her tense up, and he couldn't stand having her be that scared.

"Do you want me to check?" He asked her, hoping to ease her fear. "Uh, if you want me to, that is."

The girl nodded, but tightened her grip even more. He could feel her tiny body shaking, but he couldn't bring himself to move away from the girl._ She's been acting so strange… have I really frightened her that much? What did I do?_ He thought to himself.

"Uh, I could try to use my perception ability. If you want..." He suggested.

Akari's eyes dilated in disbelief. "You have the soul perception ability?"

Justin looked down in embarrassment. "Well, I wouldn't call it soul perception." He paused. "I do have the ability, but it's extremely weak. I barely use it because it only works for a very short distance. It's basically useless." He shrugged his shoulders.

"What do you mean useless? That's an amazing gift to have. I only know a few people that can harness that sort of energy!" Akari exclaimed in awe.

"It's _useless_ Akari!" He explained, and stressed the word. "People with the perception ability can read into people's personalities and uncover hidden secrets about them. The ability is meant for long distance! I can't do anything like that!" He paused and shook his head. "The most I can do is locate a soul within a small area… It's degrading."

"Oh well, I didn't know that." She said sadly. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

Worry spread across his face, "N-no, I didn't mean it like that!" he stammered. "You were just trying to help; I'm the one that should be sorry!" He continued to panic until she spoke. "I shouldn't have done that…"

"Don't freak out, silly. It's not like I'm mad at you or anything." She told the boy happily.

He sighed in relief, but didn't reply. Suddenly, an idea hit Akari.

"Wait a second, I forgot." Akari said with a dumbstruck look on her face. "I can find out easily if someone's watching us!"

Justin's eyes narrowed in confusion, "How are you gonna do that?"

"By sensing aura, I could locate them without having to physically _look_." She explained to him. "Kinda like soul perception, only a bit stronger."

Justin's eyes widened like he had remembered a long-forgotten memory. "By using aura…"

There was silence for a moment, until the two felt like they still weren't alone. Akari spoke first:

"Uh, can I ask you a favor though?" She looked up at the boy from her spot next to him. She tried to prepare for whatever reaction he was going have, and braced herself.

"Sure, what is it?" He asked, his blue eyes focusing in on the girl latched onto his arm.

"Uh, well, you see…" She stuttered, obviously nervous to ask him her question.

"It's okay you know, whatever it is; it'll be fine." He said to her comfortingly, hoping to ease her fear.

"Uh, um, this might sound weird, but…c-could you hold me?" Her face turned bright pink at the strange favor she asked the boy. She stammered as she forced out her request.

"You want me to do what?" He exclaimed, obviously thrown off guard by her question despite his previous statement.

"Not like hold _hold_, but just so I know I'm safe…." He just stared at her with an expression that Akari couldn't make out. It made her feel very uneasy.

"Safe?..." He questioned.

"It's kinda hard to explain, but when I'm using my power I tend to drift off a little, and well…." She paused, he made no sound. "I just want to know I'm not alone…"

She quickly turned her head away, completely embarrassed to have asked the boy she'd met that day to do something so strange. Her eyes closed and she prayed he wouldn't laugh. Nothing prepared her for what happened moments later.

The next thing Akari knew, she was in his arms. Her silver eyes instantly snapped open. "Justin, what are you d-..." Her voice drifted off, unable to finish.

She was still on her feet, but his arms were draped protectively over her shoulders. She could barely feel his hands on her back. Akari was pressed up against his chest, and she could feel him breathe in perfect rhythm, the sound of it soothed her. The fresh night air had become cold during their walk, but she could feel the warmth reverberating off him in gentle waves. It began to relax the girl, and she blushed a scarlet red.

"You said you wanted me to hold you. If that's what you want, I'm fine with it." He said to her softly. "But if I make you uncomfortable, just tell me and I'll let go."

"O-ok…" Akarai stammered. She tilted her head to look up at him. His eyes were closed, and he stood perfectly still. She buried her face in his chest after a moment.

"Are you going to start or will we stand like this forever?" She heard him tease.

Akari flinched at his remark and said, "Oh yeah." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Justin's grip on her tightened a little, ready to catch her if need be.

She focused her power as much as possible, concentrating her aura in her core and intensifying its energy. It began to flow through her stretching out her view of the area around them. Akari can sense the life force that living things give off, so detecting someone hiding on the vacant street would be easy enough. She let her sight take in everything, uncovering all that was hidden; no living thing could hide from her now.

Her sight enhanced into an inhuman energy only she could possess. Her ability made all nonliving things transparent and dark to her sight. Aura takes a unique shape, color, and heat depending on the person emitting the energy. No aura is alike; each is one of a kind. Akari also has the power to trace aura as far away as she wishes, making a person hiding on a dark street completely exposed if she wanted. A living person would stand out like a splatter of white paint on a huge blackboard, unable to escape. Since aura is unique, along with the person generating it, normally Akari could identify the person by their aura. Although, she could be forgetful at times and didn't like to admit it.

She still clung to Justin, and she could feel the intensity of his strong aura. It came off in gentle blue waves with occasional black streaks, which puzzled the girl. It was warm, really warm; which calmed her down. The type of warm that makes you want to fall asleep and drift away. Being so close, Akari couldn't help but notice these things about him. The girl forced herself to ignore and look for the trespassers on the dark street instead.

Then, she felt something. A wavelength; no, two wavelengths. A little farther down the street; and like Akari had thought, these two had been following them. They were perfectly still, waiting for Justin and Akari to move again. They hid in the dark and were motionless.

The girl focused in on the two auras. The first one seemed to be coming from a girl. It was a golden color with many flecks of olive green in it; the aura flowed outward gently like ripples in a still pond. The other seemed to belong to a boy, was an orange-red color, it vibrated wildly as it flew outward in streaks of energy from the human form it had originated from. Akari recognized the two auras, but she didn't know where she'd seen these people before…

Akari's eyes snapped open at last. "I found them…." She whispered quietly. She felt Justin tense up at the sound of her voice, surprised she was back to her senses.

He hadn't fully heard her though, "Uh, what did you say?" He looked down at the girl in his arms.

"I said I found them." She spoke a little louder this time, and then blushed. "Oh-uh and you can uh, _let go _now…" She paused. "Please."

He nearly jumped when he realized he hadn't let go of her when she'd awoken. His face turned a light shade of pink and his blue eyes widened. "OH! Right, sorry." He apologized to her quickly with a hint of embarrassment. He put his hands behind his back.

The two detached themselves from one another and Akari turned her attention towards the area she'd seen the two auras. Justin followed her gaze down the street and then he heard Akari speak:

"They're down there, two of them." She pointed towards a dark alleyway leading deeper into Death City. She let her hand fall and looked up at the boy next to her. His opaque eyes narrowed and darkened as he continued to stare at the place she had pointed too. Finally, the boy's gaze drifted to Akari.

"I'll go, stay here Akari." He said monotonously and before his companion could stop him, launched himself into the air and up onto one of the nearby buildings.

Justin gracefully jumped up the ledges and kept perfect balance; doing flips and swinging himself upward. He did all of this without making a single sound, not even the muffle of footsteps could be heard from him or the rasp of his breath. Akari's mouth dropped open as she watched the teen nimbly make his way across the huge gaps and crevices in the building's structures until he was on a roof above the alley the two auras were residing in. She saw him as he froze and carefully peered over the edge of the roof he was on and silently gazed down into the alley below.

The alley was a couple buildings away from where Akari was standing; it was between two solid brick and stone structures. Justin was on the top of the smaller building, nearer to Akari. He was still looking downward; the girl could barely see him now because of how dark it had gotten outside. He could make out the shape of his silhouette and stayed motionless on the sidewalk. Her eyes stayed transfixed on him and unblinking, watching in awe at his skill in remaining hidden in the shadows.

Then in a flash, she saw his form dive into the alley below; out of Akari's sight. The girl panicked and her heart began to race when he didn't return.

"Justin! Wait for me!" She sprinted towards the alley as fast as she could. She ran past the couple brick buildings and tried her best not to trip on the sidewalk dimly lit by the streetlights. Finally she sped to a halt and turned to her right, into the alley her companion had disappeared into moments earlier. It was dark and branched off into many different alleyways. Not a soul was there; he was gone.

Akari's silver eyes widened, and she froze. After a few seconds, she cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed, "JUSTIN!"

A small breeze picked up, but there was no reply…

* * *

Justin ran as fast as he could, dodging trashcans, crates, and everything else that littered the dark alleys of Death City as he pursued the two figures that had been watching him. _These two have been following us, and they scared Akari. I can't accept that! _His thoughts drove him to capture the two figures without fail.

It was dark, so he couldn't make out who the two were, but he was getting closer, and closer. He could hear the sound of them panting as they tried their best to escape their chaser. He could tell they were becoming exhausted from running. He knew that it would only be seconds before he could corner them, but he decided to end the episode even earlier than that.

He continued to sprint after them, but as he ran he saw what he'd been waiting for out of the corner of his eye. Above him was a beam that connected the two buildings lining the alleyway. It neared him as he kept running, and he readied his right arm.

Just as the beam was in range, he swung the chain he let loose from his arm; it flew overhead and wrapped around the beam above him. He hung on and used the chain for support as he ran up the side of the wall and flung himself in front of the two figures he'd been after.

The two figures skidded to a halt and attempted to run in the opposite direction when Justin landed in front of them, but they were to slow. The boy quickly let loose his dual chains and they latched onto the ankles of the escapees. The first one tripped which led to the second falling on top of the other, and then both lay on the ground in defeat.

Justin's chains tightened their hold to ensure that the two couldn't escape, and after that, he stepped forward. The light was dim, but his eyes dilated in disbelief when he identified the faces of the two people he'd been chasing.

"Soul? Maka? Is that you?" He asked in uncertainty. The two teens looked up at him in disgust from on the ground. They were hanging onto each other.

"Yes it's us you-you, monster!" Maka hissed, and her green eyes were burning with fury.

Soul was equally pissed off, "Let go of Maka, you cocky bastard! These damn chains of yours hurt like hell." He swore at the teen towering above him, the white-haired Death Scythe bared his sharp teeth and snarled.

Justin stood there for a moment, confused. "YOU were following me? Why?"

Maka grunted and rolled her eyes, "As if you wouldn't know."

"As if I wouldn't know WHAT?" Justin pried. "What are you talking about?"

"Lord Death let you _live_ that's WHAT!" Soul spat, "Stop playing dumb, jackass."

Justin stood there mortified; his eyes were locked onto the two Shibusen members. "What do you mean by 'let me live'?" He asked the two on the floor.

Soul and Maka exchanged confused expressions. The chains rattled as they adjusted their sitting positions to a more cautious stance. Maka quickly realized something, and spoke:

"You don't seem quite, well, the _same_ as before." She inspected him for a moment, "Do you even know what happened?" She questioned. She turned to Soul and whispered something very quietly into his ear, "Maybe his memory has been wiped…" Justin stared at the two; he hadn't heard what Maka had said to Soul.

Justin tilted his head, "I don't know what you mean... Have I done something wrong?" He asked the girl politely.

Maka's mouth almost fell open, and Soul's red eyes widened. Maka held in rage as she spoke, "What do you mean have you done something WRONG?"

The boy only stared at her with blank eyes.

She couldn't take it anymore, and exploded into pure fury at his silence, "You betrayed Shibusen! You worshipped the Kishin Asura for god's sake! You murdered JB, Tezca, and Granny, along with however many others! YOU BETRAYED **ALL** OF US!"

Justin's chains went slack almost instantly, and his blue eyes dilated in pure disbelief. "W-what do you mean _betrayed_? I never did anything like that, I swear!" He stammered, trying to control himself.

Maka and Soul slipped out of his grip and stood up, but they showed no signs of trying to leave. They stayed a safe distance away from him though. Justin reabsorbed the chains and stood across from the duo.

Soul smirked, "Dude, you kinda did." He said with venom, "You went from Shibusen's respected 'Executioner' to 'The Betrayer' within about a day."

Justin shook his head, "N-no, I didn't do any of that. We haven't even infiltrated Baba Yaga's Cas-" He cut himself off. The realization hit him square in the face.

He looked at them and, "Shibusen… already infiltrated, didn't they?"

Maka nodded her head, "A little more than three months ago."

The guillotine shook his head in panic. "T-three months? What else has happened that I don't know about?" He paused and put his hands to his head, gripping his hair. "Why can't I remember any of this?"

Maka held onto Soul's arm, "Wait a second, I was right. You can't remember anything!"

Justin's eyes were wild, "Remember… I can't remember… WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER!" He took a step towards the pair and Maka flinched. Justin shook his head and rubbed his hands through his messy blonde hair reapeatedly, as if an answer would seep into his mind.

"Woah, dude. Take a chill pill." Soul said mockingly with his devious trademark grin, showing off his pointed white teeth.

Justin froze, and locked eyes with the other Death Scythe. "You… What happened? What did I do? WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER ANY OF THIS?"

Maka winced as Justin raised his voice; it startled her; the fact that a normally calm and collected individual could speak that loud. Then again… It was Justin after all.

"Pfft, I don't feel like explaining your twisted problems. Ask Maka." He nudged his companion in the side with his elbow; she gave him a small shove for offering her input unexpectedly.

"Can someone just tell me?"

Maka's gaze fell on the blonde Death Scythe, "As far as I can tell, your memory has been wiped."

"Wiped? My memory?" Justin repeated with a confused expression, "Who did this to me?"

"Well…" Maka looked over at Soul, he shrugged, "My guess is… that it was either Lord Death or Akari."

"A-Akari?" Justin's blue eyes grew wide. "She couldn't have! Why on Earth would she do that to me?"

"Dude, doesn't she seem suspicious at all to you?" Soul asked him with a grin, "I mean, you just met her right? Why would Lord Death pair her with you for no reason?"

Justin's face was completely blank.

"He did pair you two up, right?" Soul asked the other Death Scythe bluntly.

"Yes, he did." Justin answered his question monotonously. "B-but, she's so nice. I… trust her."

Soul broke into a fit of laughter, receiving a slap from Maka afterward. Soul gripped the top of his head where she'd struck him; her hand left a bright red mark on his forehead.

"Has she been avoiding any of your questions?" Maka pried the older teen while crossing her arms over her chest; she sent a glare towards Soul out of the corner of her eye.

Justin looked down towards the pavement, "Now that I think about it; I woke up in the Death Room, and she was just… there. She's been acting a little strange whenever I ask her about something, and I seem to scare her a bit."

"Well, there ya go dude. Akari brainwashed you." Soul smirked mockingly, "Still trust her? All it takes is common sense to see that she lied to you."

Justin's blue eyes narrowed, "Well actually-"

"SHHH!" Maka silenced both Justin and Soul. She directed her gaze down the dark alleyway.

"Maka, what are you doing?" Soul asked in confusion.

"I said shush! Someone's coming down the alley!" Maka pointed into the darkness, making sure to speak quietly.

Soul came up next to Maka, Justin did as well but not as close to the pair of teens. The two boys looked in the direction she was pointing; Soul squinted in the attempt to see in the dark. Then, exactly on cue, they heard the rhythmic sound of footsteps drawing towards them.

"It's Akari." Maka said bluntly, "I recognize her unique soul."

Justin tensed up instantly, "I-I can't let her see you two."

"Fine, we're gonna go anyway."

"Wait!" Justin grabbed hold of Maka's long-sleeved shirt as she turned to leave. "Not all of my questions have been answered yet."

Maka and Soul exchanged hesitant glances, her moss green eyes clashing with Soul's blood-red ones.

"Please, I want to know what's going on!" Justin's eyes pleaded through forget-me-not blue lenses.

"Hurry and make up your mind Maka, we have to go." Soul whispered in his partner's ear.

"Uh well, whatever." Maka shook off Justin's grip, "If you want to know more… Find me tomorrow; I'll be with Soul, Black*Star, and Death the Kid."

She jumped up with Soul onto the roof of the nearest building; she stopped for a moment and then turned to Justin. "I trust you're good enough at tracking by now… murderer."

After the meister spoke, the duo disappeared over the many rooftops in one graceful motion; their two figures disappearing into the shadows of the night almost instantly.

Justin watched the two go with wide eyes, "Murderer…" He whispered in disbelief, the idea still foreign to him.

"THERE YOU ARE!"

Justin turned to look over his shoulder slowly, only to see Akari come up to him with relief written across her face. He turned to her, immediately brought into a tight hug unsuspectingly.

"I finally found you! I've been looking everywhere." The young meister said happily. "I thought I'd lost you when I called out your name, you never answered."

"…"

"Hey… why are you so quiet?" Akari released her tight grip around his midsection, and took a small step back. "What happened while we were separated?"

Silence.

"D-Did the two strangers get away?" She asked him nervously, "T-They aren't coming back, right?"

"No… they're gone."

"Well, what is it then?'"

"Nothing."

"No, it's something. What is it?"

"I said it's nothing."

"I can tell that whatever it is, it's bothering you."

"I'm fine."

"Are you?"

Justin clenched his hands into tight fists and finally… he snapped. "No! You know what, it's not okay! Nothing is; I've been lied too this whole time!" He advanced on her, letting out the built up anger he'd been holding back since Maka and Soul had appeared.

"What are you talking about?" Akari said with obvious fear in her liquid silver eyes.

"Don't pretend like you don't know. You're the one that wiped my memory, so cut the act!" Justin demanded with anger in his usually level voice.

"How do you know about that?..." The girl whispered in despair.

"That's none of your business." He said in a darkened tone.

He paused, a twisted grin appearing on his face, "How does it feel to be cornered, hmmm?" He asked as he pinned her against one of the nearest brick buildings. He grabbed her wrists roughly, forcing her up against the wall with a sickening thud. He lifted her up and off the ground, making escape near to impossible.

Akari gasped as her wind was nearly knocked out from the force of hitting the brick wall, "J-Justin, let go…"

"I want my questions to be answered before I even think of putting you down."

"I-I can't."

"Why not?" His new tone of voice causing Akari to shiver.

"Cause the truth would hurt you!" She closed her eyes and nearly screamed. "I won't!"

Justin's eyes widened, Akari swallowed when she saw them begin to change into an indigo color with a multitude of swirls; Justin recoiled at her previous answer and said:

"It's not like you care anyway! You're only paired with me because… be…cause…"

"Oomph!" Akari hit the ground with a dull sound; the hands that had been on her wrists were no longer cutting off her circulation. She began to rub her wrists to ease the needle-like pain that had started up due to the lack of essential blood.

She looked up to the boy towering over her; his blue eyes were glossed over and turned a dark opaque color that reflected her image like a broken mirror. The shadow of his tall figure engulfed her in a darkness made of pure insanity. Her eyes dilated.

"Oh no…" The girl whispered to herself in horror.

"Ahahaaaha… AHAAHAAHAA…. RaHA, RiJoJAOJoRoUOUAOaAUAHAHAAHA!" The blonde Death Scythe began to laugh in a menacingly way that Akari recognized all too well.

The young meister shot up on impulse, and grabbed hold of the boy's shirt. "Justin! Snap out of it! Hey, don't do this again!"

"Riroruoujijijia…"

"No, no… NO-NONONONO!" Akari began to panic as she quickly thought back to the things he'd done during his revival.

"Jiijijijiji…"

"HEY, I SAID TO SNAP OUT OF IT!" She shook him, tightening her grip on his shirt so he couldn't pull away if he attempted an escape. His opaque and glossy eyes stared off into the distance, as if he'd entered a trance unwillingly. He stood still and unmoving, like a mangled puppet with its strings let slack.

"Justin Law!" She screamed up into his face, the girl gulped preparing herself for what she was going to say next…

"LOOK AT ME!"

"…"

Slowly, his gaze came down to her level; and he looked into her silver eyes. But Akari could tell that it wasn't him. It wasn't the Justin she'd trusted to protect her while using her power, or sympathized with in the abandoned classroom, or joked with on Shibusen's rooftop, or was partnered with as a team; it wasn't her companion. Those weren't his eyes, those belonged to something else; something inhuman. Akari knew it too, just from looking into those unnatural orbs… that he'd lost himself.

The madness had taken over once again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Cursed Soul****: Alright, first thing's first. Soul Eater will NEVER be mine people. Like ever. Second of all, I know I've been gone for a LONG time. I hope you didn't think I died or anything… CAUSED I AM ALIVE. XD**

**Justin****: I did, I swear. You just left the last chapter hanging for three months and stuff.**

**Akari****: JUSTIN! Don't be so mean, school is really hard on her!**

**Cursed Soul****: Anyway, I dedicate this chapter and the revival of this story to ****Cassandaarr, by the way, I really appreciate the review you posted for this fanfic. It re-motivated me to type this entire thing and continue onward. :D**

**I will try my best to update monthly, but I can't promise it'll always be on time. School sucks really badly and I have a boatload of creativity issues. D":**

**Justin****: CAN WE START NOW?!**

**Akari****: DON'T RAISE YOUR VOICE TO HER, MISTER!**

**Cursed Soul****: … Someone be merciful and help me, please.**

* * *

You'll Never Be Alone

"J-Justin, snap out of it already!" Akari nearly screamed into his face as she shook her unfazed companion, gripping onto his shirt tightly with both hands.

"Nininini-No…No." He mumbled, his blank eyes staring through Akari's own silver orbs. He began to shake his head left and right: right, left, right, left, back and forth, back and forth. His gaze was completely unfazed, as if the trace he'd entered would be forever permanent. His eyes had all but completely transformed, into dark and unforgiving orbs.

"Dammit Justin!" Akari swore at him; she couldn't help it, the word just slipped out. "I won't let you do this again."

"Riririririri…"

"I promise, I won't let you… I-I won't let you…" She thought for a moment. _What do I say?... He isn't attacking me. Does that mean he can understand what I say?... Is he sane enough to recognize me?..._

"I'm your partner!" Akari told him, trying to snap him out of it again, "Your meister, Akari Cross." The girl continued on, "I promise to… to help, and take care of you! And and- And support you!" She froze before speaking again, "And you won't be alone anymore, because you'll have me!" She forced out the last part, sucking in a breath afterward.

The Death Scythe stopped shaking his head, and slowly turned to look at her. He actually _looked._ Their eyes connected, and for a split second; Akari had hope. Hope that he could pull himself back out of his madness, and they could leave together unharmed.

He stared at her, blank and lifeless. For a minute, Akari wondered if he was even alive at all… but soon afterward, he blinked. She left out a relieved sigh and took a cautious step closer.

"Promises are nothing but lies."

Akari froze mid-step, his voice had startled her. "L-lies?" She stammered, wondering if he would understand.

"You should know. Keeping secrets, is like telling a lie. Is it not?" Justin's blue eyes connected with her silver ones again, and Akari could feel her heart begin to beat faster.

He smirked, that devilish one of his. Dark, and uninviting; as if it could suck in innocence itself. "I make you uneasy." He stated, his voice growing darker as he spoke. "Yet, I'm not the liar here." He paused before finishing simply, "_You_ are."

_What do I do?! He's getting worse and worse! _Akari began to panic, taking a few nervous steps backward, and trying to get away from him.

"Running away… is not a wise choice."

Akari's attention snapped back to Justin, and her eyes widened in horror when she saw… his arm. _The blade, he has it out!_ Her heart began to beat, faster and faster. The glint of Justin's blade seemed to mock her, her eyes wouldn't leave it. Cold, hard metal; in the end, that's all it took to die. Her heart was pounding, so much, that it seemed to be the only thing she could hear. _Bump-bump… Bump-bump…_

"I see, you're afraid of being hurt." He was next to her now, whispering in her ear faintly.

Akari jumped out of surprise and shock, "How did-" But she didn't get to finish, his blade was already against her neck. Hard enough to stop her voice from proceeding to finish.

"If you want, I could kill you quickly; although it's not really my style..." He taunted darkly, "Beheading you would waste my fun though, and that not fair to me. Right?" He asked her with fake innocence, smiling all the while.

Akari tried to speak, but she couldn't. The pressure against her throat was too much, and she could feel warmth beginning to pool around the neckline of her shirt. A warm, sticky, unsettling feeling; she could sense it pouring from her neck. _Am I bleeding?... _She thought to herself.

"Red is a nice color, don't you think?" He questioned her, inching his face closer to her's, "I think it would be a good color on you. How about we find out?"

Akari squeezed her eyes shut, a few painful tears falling down her face in small, delicate streams. She clenched her fists in defiance, digging her nails into her skin unintentionally. _NO! I won't let you become a murderer again!_ She declared internally, and her eyes shot open.

"I WON'T LET YOU!" She screamed, and before Justin had time to react to her sudden outburst, her hand collided into his chest.

"**JUSTIN!**" Akari screamed at him, her hand twisting into his shirt, near the center of his chest. The angered girl could feel her energy beginning to strengthen, as she drew in the aura surrounding him. Then, she released it all into his body; her soul wavelength combined with the power of aura. And within a single, split second…

Both of their minds went blank.

* * *

"Ughh… Why does my head hurt so much?" Justin muttered to himself in pain, and rolled over in bed quietly. Pulling up the bed sheets; he was just about to get comfortable and fall asleep again, when his blue eyes shot open in surprise.

The Death Scythe sat up on impulse, and smacked his head on the bunk above him accidentally. "Oww..." He said, rubbing the injured spot tenderly to ease the throbbing pain.

His headache began to disappear after a few minutes, and so Justin glanced around wearily. He couldn't figure out where he was.

He was in a room, that's for sure; but it didn't seem familiar to him at all. The boy ran a few fingers through his blonde hair absent-mindedly. "Where am I?" Justin asked himself quietly.

Then, the bedroom door opened. He recognized the person that entered immediately.

Akari.

The second the boy saw her, it all came flashing back.

Maka and Soul, their argument with him, and the things they had said. But, that wasn't the only thing he remembered about the night earlier though, he also remembered… what he'd done to Akari. The terrible things he'd said and done to her.

He shot out of bed within a second, and was next to her instantly, "Are you alright?! Does it hurt?! I can fix it!" He grabbed her shoulder's, forcing her to sit in a random chair that he'd found in the nearest corner of the bedroom. She squealed out of surprise when he grabbed her, and her silver eyes grew wide as he spoke in a panicked tone.

"I'm fine, you know-" Akari started to speak, but was cut off by Justin's voice.

"I didn't mean too! I can fix this, WHERE'S THE FIRST AID KIT?!" He screamed in panic and worry, as he searched the room for anything with medicinal properties. Ripping out drawers and pouring objects out of the closet. He disappeared within the piles of clothing.

"JUSTIN!" Akari yelled from the chair to get his attention.

Things stopped flying out of the closet, and Justin's blonde head appeared from within. His blue eyes were wide in surprise to her voice, "Y-yeah?" He stuttered.

"I said, that I'm alright." Akari told him, standing up and straightening out her skirt. "I just came in to see if you were awake, breakfast is ready now." She said simply, pointing over her shoulder towards the door.

"Oh…" Justin muttered, stepping out of the now messy closet. Everything was suddenly so awkward, it's like he could feel it hanging in the air. What was he supposed to say to her now? How was he supposed to even act normal around her anymore? Justin didn't know, he swallowed and walked over towards Akari.

He swallowed nervously again before speaking, "I-Is your neck okay?" Justin asked her, and noticed that her throat was bandaged up. His eyes widened at the sight of the gauze, but he tried not to stare either.

Akari touched her neck absentmindedly, but she didn't try to hide it, "Yeah, I'm alright. It's just a scratch, so don't worry." She told him quietly, giving him an understanding smile.

Justin snapped, "Alright?! ALRIGHT?!" He questioned loudly, running hands through his messy hair, "I attacked you!" He exclaimed, "A-and I don't know why, I just-." He stammered, "And then, there was this- and and-"

Before Justin could continue speaking, his voice cut off. Akari had reached up, and covered his mouth to stop him from talking anymore. She sighed exasperatedly, "I know what you did. Well, mostly… but let's go have breakfast now before it gets cold." She said while firmly grabbing his hand, and quickly dragged him out the bedroom door.

Justin followed behind quietly, and looked around as she took him to the kitchen, after passing through what seemed to be a living room. He glanced around before entering the kitchen, and walked inside after she did.

The girl let go of his hand once they made it into the room, and walked over towards the counter, grabbing two plates filled with food, and set them on a table. She glanced at him, and then went to the fridge, grabbing out orange juice and finally sitting down at the table afterward.

Justin stood in the kitchen's entrance, watching quietly. He didn't know what to do, or what to say. So, he remained silent, and stayed put.

"Are you going to stand there like a statue forever?"

Justin stiffened, and turned to look at the source of the voice. Of course, it was Akari.

She was looking at him, a quizzical expression on her face, "You can eat now you know." The girl told him, "It's gonna be cold soon if you don't."

Justin looked at her, and then the chair sitting at the small table across from her. He swallowed nervously, and eventually went over to sit down. The boy did this quietly, his blue eyes not leaving her as he picked up his fork.

"Alright, what's with you?" Akari asked him outright, setting down her glass of orange juice with a tiny thud. She could see Justin's grip on the fork tighten when she questioned him.

"Nothing…"

"Don't start this with me again." Akari said a little forcefully, "Last time, you exploded on me. So just come out and say it."

The two sat across from each other, gazes locked intensely, unmoving and still. Liquid silver meeting ocean blue, crashing and colliding.

"Fine." Justin replied stoically, "I was just thinking, not that I want to trouble you with my personal issues."

Akari's silver eyes narrowed, "_Personal_ issues?" She repeated, a bit mockingly. "Can't you just tell me what's bothering you?" Her voiced changed almost instantly, and her harsh expression faded away. She looked a little hurt, a bit saddened that he couldn't talk to her about anything.

Justin's blue eyes widened when her attitude shifted, and he looked down at his plate guiltily. "Sorry…" He paused, "I just… I'm really sorry, alright?" His gaze rose from the plate, and his eyes settled on her neck, or more like the bandages.

Akari could see what he was staring at, and sighed. "It's fine, don't worry." She told him, "Just a scratch."

"That's not what I meant."

Akari stiffened, and looked at him in surprise. What did he mean then?

"I'm sorry for everything I said. It wasn't right, not at all." He told her quietly, like he wasn't sure if it was the correct thing to say, "I don't understand what came over me…" He fiddled around with his fork, playing with the waffles, and taking a nibble every now and then.

"It wasn't your fault."

Justin's head shot up, and he looked at her with a surprise on his normally calm face. "What?..."

"I said it's not your f-"

He cut her off, "No, I mean… you're not mad?" He asked, his blue eyes wide.

Akari shook her head slowly, "Nope." She told him, standing up and grabbing her empty plate; and then went to put it in the sink. He watched her quietly, waiting for a response.

"Why would I be mad at you for something you can't control?" She washed the plate and spoke. When finished, she turned around and walked back over to him. Grabbing the carton of orange juice and put it back into the fridge.

Justin looked down at his plate quietly, and ate a couple more bites before throwing the last few bits away in a trash bin near the sink. He wasn't that hungry today, or was it that he just didn't feel like eating? So he washed his plate, and turned to Akari, who had finished putting away everything she'd used to cook. She was glancing at him, wondering if he was going to speak or not.

Justin thought for a moment before opening his mouth, "That doesn't mean I shouldn't be sorry, right? What kind of weapon turns on his own meister anyway?!" He joked a tiny bit, smiling a little, "Dear lord, please don't let people hear of this accident. Jokes will be told of it." He did his best to seem innocent, folding his hand together, and pleaded to his partner with big eyes.

Akari couldn't help but laugh as he said those things, and covered her mouth politely. "J-Justin! S-stop t-that!" She giggled, trying to her best to breathe again.

He stood up straighter, and let his hands fall to his sides, "Thank you, though. For helping me last night.' He thought for a moment, "Wait a sec… How'd you get me to the apartment?" He asked her, his face puzzled.

Akari blinked a few times, and smiled, "I sorta, well. Knocked you out, and gave you this like half-piggyback ride here. Since you're taller than me it didn't work so well." She told him, her face turning a little pink at the thought of how ridiculous it had probably would have looked to someone.

Justin shrugged, "Well, thanks anyway. I'm surprised you didn't just leave me in the ally." He said to her, and relief was written on his face.

Akari looked at him for a minute, and then a small smile worked its way onto her face. "You're welcome." She said to him quietly, and then she spoke again after a moment of silence. "Alright, we need to get dressed pal. Lord Death's probably expecting me soon." And she turned to go back to the bedroom they walked out of earlier.

For the first time, Justin realized the girl was still in her pajamas. Curious, he looked down at himself. It surprised him that he hadn't noticed some of his clothing was missing, currently he was only wearing a white t-shirt and his black pants from the day earlier. "Hey, Kari. Where's my jacket?"

Akari's head popped out from around the corner, "It was dirty, so I'm gonna wash it later. You'll have to put something else on." She told him, and left to go back inside the bedroom.

He winced, and walked inside the room too. The girl was already trying to sort through the scattered clothing on the floor, and picked out a few things for herself to wear. She stopped, and glanced at him when he picked up a shirt absentmindedly.

"Do you know what to wear?"

Justin turned to look at her, fiddling with the buttons of the shirt he'd found. "Well, I always wear my jacket and; yeah…"

Akari sighed, going over to him and snatching the shirt from his hands said, "First of all, that's a women's shirt." She giggled a little, and folded it back up; setting it neatly in a pile she'd started.

Justin turned a little pink, "I knew that!" He told her quickly, a bit embarrassed.

"Sure you did." She replied teasingly.

"Did too."

"Did not."

"DID TOO."

"DID **NOT**."

Justin stopped speaking, and laughed as the two gave each other ridiculous faces. "W-we're r-ridiculous." He choked out, trying his best to end the fit of laughter. Akari was also laughing, trying not to pass out as she struggled for oxygen. After a few moments, the two could breathe again; and Akari handed Justin a set of clothing she'd picked out for him.

"There, now go to the bathroom and put that on. I can't be late, I'm sure Lord Death won't be happy with me otherwise." She said, handing him the clothes.

Justin took them, and simply nodded once they were in his hands. He didn't want to argue with her anymore; so he did as he was told. He'd caused enough trouble for the girl already, and wanted to make up for that somehow. Everything little thing counts, right?

The boy left the bedroom, and rounded the corner; entering the bathroom after closing the door behind him. He set the clothes down near the sink, and inspected them for a moment. They weren't his normal attire or style, but they didn't seem that bad… It seemed more like something Soul or Death the Kid would wear; but oh well. Dressing himself up, he looked into the mirror above the sink. He looked at himself for a minute. Black jeans with a chain hanging from the right side, a printed shirt with all sorts of different designs covered in the clashing colors gray and white, and a white-ish thin sweater to top it off. He tilted his head a little, and realized it matched Akari's normal outfit pretty well. Justin sighed, and tried to ignore it.

He reached out slowly, brushing his fingers over the smooth surface of the glass; where his reflection stood out against the clear barrier. The boy sucked in a small breath, and swallowed.

"What's wrong with me?..."

* * *

**Cursed Soul****:**

**OKAY! Please be gentle with me. I haven't written anything in FOREVER, and I seem to have lost my touch. Oh well, it'll get better sooner or later.**

**I know this chapter was REALLY short, I'm sorry. I couldn't think of a better way to end it, and stuff without dragging it on uselessly. It seems a bit rushed, MY TYPING SKILLZ ARE WEAKENING.**

***dies***

**I was typing, and this was my reaction the entire time: (.3.) DAT FACE.**

**The ideas… they just weren't coming to me. And it's so hard to focus when my friend's rockin' out next to me the whole time.**

**Anyway guys. I'll try my best to update monthly; like near the middle of each month. Does that sound alright?**

**And I'll try to make my chapters longer. I just wanted to post this cause I figured all you peeps thought I died or something.**

**Well, I guess I'll post another next month. AND IT WILL HOPEFULLY BE LONGER.**

**Reviews, comments, feedback, requests, and private messages are greatly appreciated. I hope to hear from you awesome guys. :D**

**Thanks for taking the time to read this fail of a chapter. XD**

**Sayonara~**


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